rustymongrel

Mine had roughly that amount sticking out and I got warned during bike check by a commissaire. I cut the excess off and cleaned up the threads with a file.

taras0000

I would take a hacksaw and trim it down to 2-3 exposed threads. That should be svelte enough for the most anal track director.

carleton

+1

Also, topflightpro, the nut of that skewer is likely aluminum. This is to save weight...and also strip out when you least expect it A teammate of mine was at Collegiate Track Nationals when hers stripped out minutes before her event.

Go to a local bike shop and look at the cheaper skewers and they will have steel sleeves in the nut. You may even have one in a parts box in your garage.

topflightpro

Thanks all. That is kind of what I expected.

Divebrian

Drop from saddle to elbow pads on aero bars? Putting on a set of aero bars and was curious as to if there is a good rule of thumb for a starting position. Where should the elbow cups/pads of the aero bars be in relation to the saddle?

Dalai

Piece of string and all that...

General suggestion is what ever height required for a flat back so pad drop depends on your physiology.

Really need to field test if you can't get into a wind tunnel. As lower doesn't necessarily equal faster. But do give yourself time for adaption as the new position may be faster once ridden in a while.

taras0000

For sure. Aerodynamics are highly individual. There are some athletes out there that look horrible when it comes to "eyeball aerodynamics", but are actually extremely slippery. If you can mimic the back position you get in the drops, then this is a good place to start, as you are already used to putting out power at that hip angle. The bring the elbows in to narrow your profile. This can also be achieved with narrow drop bars as well. The nice thing about the drops is more control and no transition from one position to another. These two things may save you a second or two over aero bars, even in a short race.

It's not about going faster, it's about being faster.

carleton

Divebrian,

+1 to Dalai and Taras regarding aerobars.

Choosing, setting-up, and configuring aerobars and bike fit is a long journey. Don't expect to figure it out on the first go. There is a lot of science, bro-science, and trial and error involved. One can actually be significantly slower in aerobars under certain circumstances. Then after all of that, you'll become more fit and flexible as you progress as an athlete, so then you'll have to do it all over again

Huskey

So need some advise on pedal straps. Just bought a set of bls straps and having issues clipping in with the straps attached. Basically they wont stay in place when I go to clip in, anyone have any tips on getting them in place? Ive seen their new design that has small eyelets for them to be zip tied to the pedal instead of the axle. Thought I may give that a go. Also how do you go about clipping in? The pedal should sit upside down with the strap on it, do you flip it backwards or forwards with your foot? Which is easier?

First time using straps as ive always used keywins pin lock system

Doge

Did that without issue at the LA/Carson track. I didn't ask. It bugged me so later I cut it off.

Divebrian

Haven't figured that one out yet. I got a pair of them and have only used them for one track session. It was kind of a pain as I found the easiest thing to get next to the rail with the strap completely apart. Clip in with the pedal in the up position, reach down and thread the strap through and tighten it up. Get the other pedal to the up position and clip in and thread the strap through and tighten it. I thought they would have more stiffness to them. They seem to work well, but I can't see clipping in and tightening them while being held in preparation for a standing start.

Huskey

Thats pretty much what I was having to do the other night. Im hoping with a few zipties it may hold its shape better, but I dont want to put any eyelets in just yet as Im waiting on my new pedals to arrive first

carleton

This velcro style of strap is a pain in the ass to use. Period. I bought a set at full retail and gave them away.

Use Toshi or Kashimax straps. They are pricey but worth it. They aren't just one band of leather (DO NOT buy those that are). The one band style are simply cosmetic and will stretch and be useless on your first ride.

The Toshi and Kashimax straps have rigid laminate sandwiched between two leather straps. This keeps them from stretching and makes them hold themselves open when you are trying to insert your foot. There are other brands, too. But, I can attest to Toshi and Kashimax for sure.

This site is run by a bikeforums regular:
https://www.retro-gression.com/collections/straps

Ditch the velcro straps. You will be happy you did.

Some pros use them, but they also have bike mechanics that lend a hand when strapping in.

brawlo

I went the other way and ditched my Toshis for skingrowsback straps. I slip my foot down so the strap sits on the top of my foot. Pull it up and rotate so the toegoes into the strap loop, but close enough to the pedal to stop it going full circle and then insert foot, clip in, tighten. Voila! I used exactly the same technique for my Toshis. The toshis were easier to get into, but I like the velcro straps a lot more for ease of use.

Divebrian

How do you attach the straps to Shimano SPD pedals? I prefer the Toshi type straps, but tried the velcro ones as the pedal axel went through the strap to attach the pedal to the cleat and seemed like the easiest, cleanest way. I'm all for the Toshi style if someone can give me a tutorial on attaching them to Shimano pedals.

brawlo

Which version Shimano pedal do you have? The Shimano metal pedals have a tab/molding that you thread a zip tie over. I have seen pics of carbon versions with a hole drilled to mount in basically the same way

carleton

How do you feel about the fastening the velcro strap with your fingers going towards the finger-eating machine That always bothered me.

Read around and click around here. I used one of these methods for several years with success.

Pedals ? Up! Up! Up! An introduction to track sprint cycling

brawlo

Not sure about the other versions, but the skingrowsback version fastens to the outside so no problems with getting close to dangerous bits. The main thing that annoyed me about Toshi was the tuck in of the strap to the second hole. I could very rarely get it with rolling around so had to pull up to a fence to tuck the daggy end in. The velcro can be more fiddly with getting the shoe in at times but from there it's easy peasy

Divebrian

I have these two versions of the Shimano pedals. One is the Dura Ace version with the metal body, the other is the Ultegra version with the composite body.

brawlo

Those little tab bits in between the clip and the axle on the DA pedals you wrap a small zip tie around that and the toshi strap. They don't move and I only broke one zip tie in 3yrs. Always keep a spare few zip ties in the took kit. For the carbon ones, I've seen pics where people drill a hole between the tab and axle to do the same thing to use a zip tie. Having said all that, I don't use straps on my trainer bike mounted to my kickr. It cops more abuse than my track bike ever will and I've never unclipped from it......

Divebrian

Bothered me too...that's why I was stopped and hanging on to the rail when I strapped in and got ready. Didn't seem too convenient and I can't imagine time effective at a large race when they are asking you to roll up to the line as soon as the previous guy finishes.

Divebrian

Thanks. Do you tighten the zip ties down as tight as you can so the straps are held in place and not allowed to move or do you tighten them down just enough that it holds the strap to the pedal, but allows side to side movement so the strap can move if needed when being cinched down?

sarals 

So did I. I now have a Planet X skewer, it's a shorter shaft and leaves hardly anything exposed. And it has a tab on one of the nuts to help hold it in the dropout. The Zipp is now in the toolbox - and it's been cut down.

brawlo

Yes, I tightened them down tight. I just made sure I had the buckle in the right place. If you get that wrong, then no big deal, the zip ties are pretty damn cheap. There is also enough movement that you can still feed the strap through, but it take some effort to do it.

topflightpro

Two quick questions:
1. I've been thinking about getting some 3T Scattos. Everyone seems to like them, and from what I've heard, they are much stiffer than my Deda Zero 100s, which I can feel flexing, a lot. But I am unsure whether to go with the 35s or 37s. I don't think I've met anyone with 37s, but 35 seems awfully narrow, especially since the narrowest bars I've used are 40s. I did take a quick spin on a friend's bike with 35s, and they seemed OK. Any reason to not get the 35s?

2. I've been looking at new frames. I don't need one, but I like to look, and I am a bit confused by the geometries. Comparing Stack and Reach to my road bike is nearly impossible. All the track frames are very long and low compared to my road bike, and it seems like I would need something like a 80 or 90mm stem on most nicer track frames. Is that normal?